


stress-induced headache

by proto_typ3



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Emotions, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23490604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/proto_typ3/pseuds/proto_typ3
Summary: Harker experiences his second vision from the Nine. He doesn't enjoy it.
Relationships: The Drifter/Guardian (Destiny)
Kudos: 26





	stress-induced headache

**Author's Note:**

> take this small thing while i work on a larger thing

None of this felt truly real. 

Harker shook as he drew in a breath.

The pristine white landscape was pretty, he thought amidst the sickening anxiety. It looked like an old modern art piece. Simple geometric shapes, lines, only a few colors. The gold accents were nice. 

Snow, or something like it, crunched under his feet. The figure, floating, completely still save for her clothing, started speaking. Not to him, but to something else, something he couldn’t see. Its voice made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, the echoes wanting to swallow him up and drown him. 

They ended their short conversation. Not once did either of them refer to Harker. There was a loud thud, and an ornate chest appeared under where the woman had been floating. He almost laughed. 

The vision swirled away, and he was back in the cockpit of his ship with a pulsing headache. 

Drifter awoke with a start. There was a nervous unease in the air that made it thick and hard to breathe. He recognized it, though, but it didn’t help. Knowing the source made it worse. 

His ghost, ever quiet, spun next to him, bathing him in a low red light. The ghost looked towards the door sharply, signaling that someone was in his ship. His heart rate spiked, but then he remembered that Harker sometimes dropped in late. The sap didn’t like sleeping alone when he had the choice. 

“Drifter?” Harker’s voice was distant, echoing through the halls. “You back there?”

“Yeah, yeah, coming.” He called back, pushing himself up and making his way to the door. He spotted Harker down the hall and waved. Drifter noted the gun at his side and the tension in his shoulders. “How you livin’?” He asked with a yawn. 

“Tired.” Harker said when he got closer. There was something off in his voice. Whatever it was, it was more than just tired. He took his helmet off and shook out his hair. 

“Get in bed, then. Take off your armor.” Drifter guided him inside, flicking on the overhead light and squinting in regret. Harker pushed himself up onto the work table Drifter had by his bed and started unclasping his leg armor. He should really go back to wearing leathers, these metal plates were hard to get on and off. 

“Drifter,” Harker started, voice a bit shaky. 

“Yeah?”

“You know about the Nine, right?” He asked slowly, almost forgetting the question. Drifter bristled, then sighed.

“What do they want with you?”

“I- I don’t know.” His throat wanted to close up. Harker’s ghost materialized and hovered tentatively around his shoulders. Rarely did Drifter see them not fighting. “The… the Emissary, I think you called her,” He looked at his ghost and it nodded. “She brought me somewhere.” He said all of this as he took off his armor bit by bit, trying to ground himself.

“Dark or bright?” 

“Wh- it was bright. Bright white and blue and gold.” The tightness in his throat spread to his chest. “There was a- a darker place though. Before this time.” 

“You’ve seen her multiple times and you didn’t tell me?” He didn’t sound upset, just concerned as he leaned against the table Harker was sitting on. 

“I didn’t know what to make of it all. I still don’t.” The last of his armor, the chest piece, fell away. His hands were trembling. From the nerves or the cold, he couldn’t tell.

“Listen, listen, come here.” He pulled him down and into his arms. Harker moved easily, pressing himself to Drifter’s chest. They stood together in silence for a while, Harker’s strained, shallow breathing slowly evening out. “Lay down.” He murmured. 

“I’m tired. Of all this. Shit just keep happening.” He tumbled onto the thin bed, waiting for Drifter to come down with him.

“I know.” He let Harker curl into his arms. “Shook me up the first couple times too.” 

“Do you know what they are?” 

“I know they’re powerful. They don’t understand us. People, guardians, this system even. They… probably aren’t from here.” He paused, stroking his hair. “Haven’t hurt us yet.” 

“Head still hurts.” He groaned, eyes squeezed shut and forehead pressed to Drifter’s chest.

“Close your eyes. I’ll get-“ Suddenly Harker’s ghost flew back into the room and a cup of water transmatted onto the floor by the mat they were laying on. Drifter nodded at the ghost. “If you’re thirsty, there’s water.” Harker just rubbed his face against Drifter’s shirt. Shit, he was crying. Shit, shit, shit. 

At the first shake of his shoulders, Drifter squeezed him. 

“It’s okay.” 

“Shut up.” He said quietly, controlling his voice as much as he could. 

Drifter nodded against his head, feeling Harker tense intermittently. His fingers would dig into his sides and pull his body as close as they could, trying to get impossibly closer as skin pressed against skin. The way he was laying on top of Drifter made it a bit hard for him to breathe, but he didn’t care. Harker needed this. At some point, one of their ghost’s turned off the light. A shaky hand grabbed Drifter’s wrist and pulled it up to rest on his head. Instantly, Drifter started carding through his hair. Gentle, repeating strokes. Harker’s shoulders jolted a few more times, quiet sobs making his chest ache with how much he was holding them in, before he seemed to calm. 

He shifted, sliding off his chest a bit, but still clung to his side. Drifter pulled the blankets over them. Their hands had met at some point, and Harker was rubbing a thumb over Drifter’s knuckles, head too full to think, let alone say anything. It swam with guilt and embarrassment he didn’t know he could still feel. He hadn’t cried in a while. Drifter was stuck between beating down the emotions that kept rising in his chest and pulling Harker tighter against him. 

He squeezed him close, kissing the top of his head like some kind of romantic.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are always appreciated :3c


End file.
